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The Thin Red Line
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The Thin Red Line (1998)

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User Rating: 7.4/10 (46,871 votes)
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Overview

Director:
Terrence Malick
Writers (WGA):
James Jones (novel)
Terrence Malick (screenplay)
Release Date:
15 January 1999 (USA) more view trailer
Genre:
Action | Drama | War more
Tagline:
Every man fights his own war.
Plot:
Director Terrence Malick's adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 19 nominations more
NewsDesk:
(24 articles)
Rockin' The Reel: Musicians Turned Moviemakers (From IFC. 27 June 2008, 8:49 AM, PDT)
Pitt Pays His Own Way On Texas Location Shoot (From Studio Briefing. 8 April 2008, 10:33 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
every man fights his own war... more

Cast

 (Cast overview, first billed only)
Kirk Acevedo ... Pvt. Tella
Penelope Allen ... Witt's Mother (as Penny Allen)
Benjamin Green ... Melanesian Villager (as Benjamin)

Simon Billig ... Lt. Col. Billig
Mark Boone Junior ... Pvt. Peale

Adrien Brody ... Cpl. Fife
Norman Patrick Brown ... Pvt. Henry

James Caviezel ... Pvt. Witt (as Jim Caviezel)

Ben Chaplin ... Pvt. Bell

George Clooney ... Capt. Bosche

John Cusack ... Capt. Gaff
Jarrod Dean ... Cpl. Thorne

Matt Doran ... Pvt. Coombs

Travis Fine ... Pvt. Weld

Paul Gleeson ... 1st Lt. Band
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Mince ligne rouge, La (Canada: French title)
more
MPAA:
Rated R for realistic war violence and language.
Runtime:
170 min
Country:
Canada | USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital
MOVIEmeter: ?
V 7% since last week why?

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Producers Robert Michael Geisler and John Roberdeau fell out with director Terrence Malick during pre-production. By the time they were filming, their relationship had so deteriorated that Malick barred them from visiting the set. more
Goofs:
Crew or equipment visible: Before the flanking assault on the Japanese bunker, a wire is visible, and apparently attached to a US soldier/ stuntman, as he is engulfed in a mortar round explosion (apparently to simulate the jerking force of the impact). more
Quotes:
[first lines]
Private Witt: I remember my mother when she was dyin', looked all shrunk up and gray. I asked her if she was afraid. She just shook her head. I was afraid to touch the death I seen in her. I couldn't find nothin' beautiful or uplifting about her goin' back to God...
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Best of the '90s" (2000) more
Soundtrack:
Sit Back and Relax more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
146 out of 174 people found the following comment useful:-
every man fights his own war..., 17 May 2000
Author: newonpluto from los angeles

what many people do not know is that this film, directed by terence malick, is without question the reason that Shakespeare in Love won the best picture oscar over the much favored Saving Private Ryan. why am i saying this? first let's deal with the movie. long? yes. too much? sometimes. but is it good? i can not begin to describe the beauty of this film.

about the oscars, i only watched the film after its surprise nomination for best picture. i had seen the competition already, and it was time to check out the fifth nominee. i went to the theatre myself, and came out three hours later, went home, and i cried. not only because i was disturbed, but i loved every single character in the film. i wanted to be there for them, cry with them, fight their battle. many people who have watched the film have said the same thing to me.

the Thin Red Line is sometimes painful to watch, but only because of its realistic juxtaposition of humanity, philosophy, and the terror of war. the film does not delve into any historical fact about Guadalcanal, except that the battle itself was terrifying (as is any battle). the characters introduce themselves through voice-over narration, which accompanies much of the action. and speaking of action, there is not much in the film. more images. images of war and the lives these soldiers left behind. this was Terence Malick's intent, of course, and many people were insulted and thought it was his own pretentious self getting the best of him. "boy he's a genius.. must he show it??" sometimes it is a little pretentious, but the film would've been "just another WWII film" if it was out of Malick's hands.

i can not understand why Sean Penn is billed as the top actor or the main character of this film. he was there a lot, but the film is carried by Jim Caviezel as the beautiful and ethereal private Witt. words can not describe this performance. with as few lines as he had, Caviezel portrays the symbolic soul of Witt, and by the end of the film he will break your heart. also excellent performances from Nick Nolte and the understated Elias Koteas, who can stretch creepy (Crash) to sympathetic in the blink of an eye.

now.. let's consider hollywood. sure they love Spielberg, and sure Private Ryan was a masterpiece (and it really was), but nobody even expected the Thin Red Line to get seven oscar nods, especially for best picture. but Shakespeare in Love was the crowd pleaser, and the other two were epic war films. most hollywood "artsy" people are anti-war.. kind of like the Thin Red Line. Private Ryan seemed to be MUCH more patriotic "pro-america" than the other. so if we've got anti-war on one side, and patriotism on the other... open and shut. the votes were split between the two, and Shakespeare emerged victorious. too bad.

anyway... the Thin Red Line was definitely better than Shakespeare, and definitely a completely different film from Spielberg's. John Toll's cinematography and Hans Zimmer's score work together to convey the tone of Malick's lyrical and poetic direction, and both should have won oscars. this film is nothing short of breath-taking, though understandably not for the average american moviegoer.

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